Hello and welcome back to the Blog!
I hope you have all had a good week and enjoyed some cracking rainstorms? A few days ago we were all complaining about how hot it was and now I am in my jeans and wrapped in about four layers because I am soooooo cold!
The end of term is hurtling towards us and whilst we are very much focused on what is happening in the present, we are also very much looking forwards to the future. I may not be in school but the end of term feels as hectic as usual. Next week would have been our DASP Transfer Day and even though we might not be doing it way we usually do, we will let you know what is happening as soon as everything has been put into place.
How are you getting on with the Wellbeing Challenge? Like I said last week, you are probably doing a lot of the suggested activities without even realising! It turns that I am too and I have managed to tick more of the Wellbeing boxes this week.
Nature is a wonderful thing isn't it? After our run on Thursday (more information on that later) we couldn't believe our luck when we saw this rather gorgeous swan family trying to navigate their way down the River Stour. There have been nine cygnets from the start so the swan parents are doing a very good job of looking after them aren't they?
That evening, our resident Ukulele band played for our street - they played for a whole hour and delighted the neighbours, young and old. I love the fact that what started off as a one off is now a weekly occurrence!
I left the 'concert' early as I went to take part in the weekly quiz that I do with my friends. We got 48 out of 50, our highest score yet!
On Friday,
when I finished work, I went to see Mrs Daniel. We went for a glorious walk
around her village and then sat in her gorgeous garden chatting for hours! It's
only when I realised what the time actually was that I had to get my skates on
and get home!
I am going to call Saturday 'Soggy Saturday' as I got completely and utterly soaked when I went for a socially distanced walk with my good friend Zoe. Everything, and I mean everything was wet through including my 'action and adventure' shorts. As soon as we got back to the car, the sun began to shine. Typical!
 |
| Soggy lambs finding shelter under a tree |
After my walk with Zoe, we said our goodbyes and I got into the car and zoomed off to Milton Abbas to meet with the lovely Miss Clements. I went for another and much drier walk. It was absolutely beautiful and some of the views just took my breath away.
Sunday arrived and my poor, sore legs went on a run with my running buddies Hannah and Karen. We did our now regular route to Spetisbury to see if we could spy any signets but it looks as though the eggs haven't hatched yet, that or they have been abandoned. There were a lot of preening and snoozing swans by the bridge - something I could empathise with!
Data Derek
This handsome chap is Miss Wood's new assistant, Data Derek. Miss Woods is one of the unsung heroes of the school who works behind the scenes making sure that the data that you all produce is easy to access and analyse by your teachers. There is a lot more to her job than that but that's probably the simplest way to explain it! Like me, she is working from home.
I believe that she has also got herself a Dexter equivalent for when she's at home as she is missing him so much. I have asked her to send me a picture - I wait with baited breath!
Story Time
Do you feel like this when it comes to reading?
Well, why don't you give yourself a break (and I'm talking to the adults here as well!) and check out the Story Time web page? New stories have been added since last week and there are lots more to come. So, why don't you listen to one of the stories that one of the staff has read for a change?
Look how happy Matilda is! If I told you that this might be one of the stories on the website, would I be giving the game away?
Have a look - you'll be so pleased that you did!
Is there a teacher in the house?
When our lovely Miss Shaw left us in December to continue with the next phase of her teacher training, little did we know that there was a pandemic waiting around the corner!
I am delighted to say that she is now a fully fledged teacher has got a job teaching Year Six in primary school in September. I know you will join me with wishing Miss Shaw all the best for her new job and to congratulate her on gaining Qualified Teacher Status - the teaching profession have gained a good 'un!
PE with Joe
Now that Joe Wicks has gone 'part time' I have been catching up on the occasional session that I have missed. I want to be able to say that I have done every single one of his sessions so that I can continue to wear my T Shirt with pride!
I didn't do the Saturday session this week as I went on the two mega walks but at least that means I have a PE session 'in the bag' so to speak.
For two mornings in a row I had two little furry participants come and join me. Their star jumps were rubbish but their stretching was excellent!
Sports Day
On Thursday, it would have been our Sports Day. This is usually one of the highlights of the year so it it has been strange not to be part of it.
To show my support and affinity to our fantastic PE Department, I got up at stupid o'clock and went for a run with my running buddies Hannah and Karen. Needless to say, it was BOILING so we ended up walking most of the way.
I may not have been part of the Staff Relay this year but I felt I gave it a good go. Also, I felt very self righteous for the rest of the day! I sent this picture to the PE Department to show them my undying commitment to their department.
Here I am!
This week, we had two Senior Leadership Meetings, both held in my classroom! It was so strange seeing my beloved room on my screen at home but I can't begin to imagine how strange it was for my colleagues who had to endure seeing me on the big screen!
Isn't technology fabulous?!
National Writing Day
For those of you who are in Mrs James' Google Classrooms, you will know that last week it was National Writing Day. This is what she wrote to her children:
#247challenge.
1. Write a 24-word story on a piece of paper starting with ‘One day…’
2. Type your story or take a photo of your story.3. Share your pieces of writing in the comments under this post!
4. Encourage three friends to do the same!
Fancy giving it a go? Well, there are edible prizes and Achievement Points to be had so you can email her on:
Go on, give it a go!
Big Umbrella
I have written about this incredible service that is being provided exclusively to us by Dorset Mind in previous Blogs. As I am working closely with Dorset Mind at the moment, I have been informed that there are still a couple of spaces available. This service is being provided for us free of charge and is aimed at, in the first instance, children in Year Six who are either at home or at school.
To refer your child, you can do so by following the link below:
Wellbeing Challenge
Last week we added Ella, Henry and George's Wellbeing Challenge entries to the Blog and this week week we have Layla and Amelie enjoying a beautiful (and steep!) walk up the glorious Hambledon Hill which isn't too far from me.
How many times have our parents 'made' us go for a walk despite the fact that it's the last thing we wanted to do? How many times do we actually enjoy ourselves and are pleased that we were turfed off the sofa in exchange for some fresh air and glorious views?
I wonder...
Thank you to Mrs Carter for sending these gorgeous pictures to me.
I need more pictures! Please send them to me at:
fray01@dmsschool.co.uk
Thank you!
The new Year Fives
Miss Easton, Miss Sharpe and I continue to work hard on the Year Four to Year Five transition, trying hard to make it the best we can under the circumstances. This week, Miss Easton and I had a virtual Question and Answer session with lovely Year Four children at Prince of Wales First School. It was so lovely to see children again! They asked some excellent questions and I hope that the answers we gave them were reassuring.
Just to let you know that we have added more information to the website including 'Frequently Asked Questions' for parents.
We have even more in the pipeline so watch this space!
Any questions?
Although a lot of the focus tends to be on Years Four and Eight when it comes to transition, we also need to remember that everyone is going to experience some sort of transition in September. The Year Fives will be going into Year Six and more crucially, the Year Six children will be going into another Key Stage as well as into Year Seven.
There are bound to be loads of questions that you want to ask about next year and although we might not be able to answer them all at this stage, we will give it a good go.
If you are currently a Year Six pupil and you have any questions you would like to ask then please contact Miss Still at:
A lot of talk this week has been about what September is going to look like. Yet again, there is a lot of speculation as to what is going to happen. No one has any definitive answers I'm afraid. Ms Pluck will continue to update you via her weekly letters and that's all we can do for now. I know that some of you are feeling a bit anxious about coming back to school in September, especially if you have been away from school since the lock down commenced in March.
Try to be positive and remember that there are a lot of us who are in the same boat, so to speak. Together, we will get through this.
In the meantime, continue to be safe, be sensible and, above everything else, be kind to each other, Sometimes, that's not very easy to do but I promise you that a little bit of kindness goes a long way!
See you next week!
Mrs Ray x
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